Night at the Club
by Tiiulicious
Summary: AU Romance ensues at the bachelor party for Eric Weiss and his bride. Multiple pairings, including Lark and SV.
1. Chapter 1

This is my new three parter fic that I just had to write down. I promise to update 'Come as you are' as soon as possible.

This story is basically what happens when people get intoxicated in a bachelor party. Multiple pairings: SV, Lark, Kelly/Eric, Rachel/Thomas….at least

I don't own any of the characters, JJ Abrams does. (One lucky man ;) )

Night at the club

PART 1

"I really don't wanna be here right now," Lauren Reed complained to her best friend Sydney Bristow as they were making their way to the exclusive club located in downtown Los Angeles where the joint bachelor/bachelorette party for their friends Kelly Peyton and Eric Weiss was being held.

Sydney was a tall, elegant brunette who was clad in a red Halston dress that went to her knees and had an empire waist. She had accessorized her simple dress with chandelier earrings and red strappy sandals. Her hair had been pulled to a chignon and her lipstick was the same flaming shade that her dress.

Lauren was a willowy blonde who had chosen a black, strapless Bebe satin dress that fell to her knees and hugged her shapely body. Her make-up was much subtler than Sydney's, her black high-heeled sandals more comfortable looking and her only jewelry was a simple diamond bracelet. Her silver diamond wedding ring was the other piece of jewelry that she was wearing, but to her that didn't count as an accessory.

The two girls had known each other since junior high school and had been roommates at UCLA. Sydney had been Lauren's maid of honor and Lauren had been there for Sydney when her fiancé Danny had been killed in a car accident two years ago. And tonight Sydney had a clear mission to cheer her best friend who was still acting very much like a wet blanket despite Sydney's best efforts.

"You are coming, end of discussion. Tonight is for Kelly and Eric and I want you to have the biggest smile imaginable when we enter. This is about having fun; you remember fun, right?" Sydney said with a laugh and nudged Lauren in the arm.

"I'm getting divorced; I don't want to have fun. I want to crawl to the nearest corner and pity myself while eating endless amounts of ice cream and watching Days of our lives. Besides you only wanna go because Michael Vaughn is going to be there," Lauren winked and nudged Sydney right back without hesitation.

"You can't wallow in self-pity for the rest of your life. You have to get out and have fun. You are not the only person in the world who is going through a divorce. And is it so wrong of me to want to ogle at Michael, who by the way is one hunk of man flesh and maybe getting some action tonight?" Sydney retaliated with a naughty smile.

"You can have all the action you want, but leave me out of it. I'm not ready to start dating again; my divorce is not even final yet. How pathetic is it that I'm 25 and my marital status is divorced? I feel like such a loser," Lauren said back to her self-pitying tone Sydney had thought had evaporated a minute ago. She obviously still had lots of work ahead of her, if she wanted Lauren to have fun.

"Lauren, you're not a loser. You and Will were married for over six years and it's not like you ended it on a whim. Don't get all down on yourself because you tried and in the end it didn't work. Plus I'm really proud of how you and Will are handling this situation. You're trying to be civilized and remain friends after everything is said and done," Sydney said with encouragement as the twosome reached their destination and entered the bar.

"Sydney, Lauren, I'm so happy you made it," Kelly Peyton said as she noticed two of her good friends arriving. The older brunette looked very much like a blushing bride in a pale pink dress that went nicely with her pink diamond engagement ring that both Lauren and Sydney had been eyeing jealously ever since Eric had popped the question a year ago on Valentine's day.

"There is no place where I'd rather be than celebrate your last night as a single girl," Sydney as cheerfully and hugged Kelly lightly. Lauren repeated Sydney's actions but her well wishes were a little less enthusiastic.

Sydney had spotted Michael through the crowd and he looked yummy in her opinion. The two had met through Kelly last year during the Fourth of July barbecue picnic and they flirted whenever they happened to be in the same place at the same time. Tonight he looked especially good in a navy blue suit and tie.

"Go on, don't mind little old me. I know you are eager to get yourself some Vaughn, don't let me stand in the way. I'll just go find a quiet corner where I can die in peace without interruption." Lauren noted with a laugh and slightly pushed Sydney in the direction where Michael was standing talking to a blond man wearing a black suit.

"Funny, but I'm not going there to humiliate myself until I've had at least a couple of drinks in me. And young lady, you're not dying on my watch. Now I want you to put on your most engaging smile and enjoy this night. If I see a frown on your face tonight, I will personally torture you tomorrow by forcing you watch a 24 marathon with me." Sydney said in her most dangerous tone. After Lauren had separated from Will, she had moved in with her until she would find a decent apartment for herself. It had been Will's grandmothers house where they had lived during their marriage, so she couldn't possibly with a good conscience to ask her estranged husband to move out of the house where he had grown up.

"Fine, you win. I'll do almost anything to avoid watching you drool over Kiefer Sutherland, who always miraculously saves the world from complete destruction." Lauren said with mock terror and stopped a waitress and took two glasses of champagne from the tray. She gulped the content of the glasses before Sydney could reach for her glass. Lauren handed the waitress the glasses and took another two.

"I didn't know divorce had turned you into an alkie," Sydney joked and took her drink from Lauren's hand as a precaution.

Lauren was about to reply to Sydney's barb about her supposed drinking problem, when Eric Weiss started clinking his glass to get the attention of the room.

"On behalf of me and my wife to be, I want to thank all of you for coming. I know all of you are wondering why we are having a joint party and I am not in Las Vegas painting the town red by gambling and hiring a stripper. The simple reason is that she didn't let me. If it were up to me, I would be ridiculously drunk and losing at blackjack, but this wonderful woman who has inexplicably agreed to be my wife wanted to throw all of you a party and also she wanted to keep me in a tight leash." Eric joked and got a good laugh from his friends and family. Kelly shot her future husband a not so happy glance and took a microphone from his hand with a quick peck on her fiancé's lips.

"I command all of you to have a good time tonight. Dance, mingle, eat; there is certainly enough food to feed a small army thanks to my fiancé's inability to choose between Chinese and Italian food, so naturally we are now serving both of them." Kelly concluded the opening of the party and nodded to the DJ who started playing Frank Sinatra as an homage to Eric and Kelly, who had met during a showing of Sinatra's movie 'From here to Eternity'.

"Please god; don't let that be Rachel who is coming towards us. I'll join you in the suicide corner if that air headed bimbo forces herself on our company tonight. Let's pretend we are having a real intense conversation about something and hope she'll get the message and goes away," Sydney suggested as she had noticed that the tall blonde was trying to get an eye contact with her.

"Okay, what do you wanna pretend to talk about? Find a topic quickly, since the blonde ambition vehicle is making her way to us and will torture us with her presence sooner than you can say annoying," Lauren suggested while glancing at the other blonde woman who was now actively inching herself closer to the twosome.

"Why are you still wearing your wedding ring? You separated from Will about five months ago and all that time that you have lived with me; I haven't seen you taking it off once. You use that ring as a 'keep out' sign don't you? Like that guy we met at the gym yesterday who wanted to take you out, but you told him that you were married. Or are you still thinking about a possibly trying to breathe life into a marriage that doesn't make either of you happy? " Sydney asked seriously and really wanted Lauren to give her a good answer and not try her usual sarcasm to stray from the actual question.

"You are way off Oprah, I wear it because I'm still technically married and married people usually wear a ring to symbolize their union. Maybe, possibly I'm not ready to give up on the idea that I'll live happily ever after with my high school sweetheart. But Syd, if you want to cheer me up, don't try to analyze my feelings tonight even if you saw a Dr. Phil special you think will fix all my problems." Lauren said with a resounding voice that told Syd very clearly that the topic was closed for now on.

Rachel had thankfully been held back and was chatting away with a female guest neither Lauren or Sydney knew. They relocated to the other part of the club, going to take something to eat and hoping that when Rachel would stop talking that poor woman's ears off, she wouldn't spot them anymore.

"Hi Sydney, how are you? I haven't seen you for ages," said a masculine voice from behind the women and Sydney instantly recognized that the voice belonged to Michael and turned around in record time.

"Michael, so good to see you again. I'm doing very well, keeping busy with work. What have you been up lately?" Sydney asked while trying not to jump up and down with excitement that he had actually remembered her name and came to talk to her.

"Nothing that interesting. Been working a lot lately, us doctors will never run out of sick people to treat." Michael said with a smile that made Sydney want to melt. He was good looking, funny and a doctor, all three things that most women would have swooned over and Sydney was not an exception.

Lauren cleared her throat rather loudly as an effort to stop Sydney from making a fool out of herself by just blushing and staring at Michael with a obvious 'take me now, I'm yours' expression on her face. That seemed to do the trick and she broke her intense gaze directed to his blue orbs.

"Have you met my friend Lauren Reed? She's also one of the bridesmaids for the wedding," Sydney said while and slightly hit Lauren on the ribs to make sure she's plays nicely.

"Yes, I remember you Mrs. Reed. I met you and your husband Will in the barbecue. He's not here, is he? We had an interesting conversation about F. Scott Fitzgerald that I'd like to continue." Michael said politely and was a little taken back when the blonde's smile turned upside down and her demeanor tensed immediately at the mention of her husband's name.

"Lauren and Will are legally separated and he's not here tonight," Sydney stepped in before Lauren could reply.

"Oh, I'm really sorry. I can talk out of the side of my ass sometimes, as my friend Julian can corroborate." Michael said with regret and winked to a blond man who stood near the threesome sipping champagne.

"Well, Mickey does talk to too much and too much crap most of the time," the man replied with a laugh and made his way over to where Lauren, Sydney and Michael were standing.

"Sydney and Lauren, this is my friend Julian Lazarey, who works at the same hospital than me and Eric. He is a lawyer and not a doctor so don't accept any free examinations from him." Michael joked and slapped Julian on the back.

"Nice to meet you ladies. Lauren, can I have this dance?" Julian said and extended his had to Lauren's when the DJ started playing another one of Frank Sinatra's hits.

As Lauren was about to politely decline the invitation, Sydney made her move and practically pushed Lauren forward and making her collide with Julian's body.

"She would love to go dancing with you. Lauren works an a choreographer and owns her own dance studio, so you know she is excellent," Sydney advertised and made it completely impossible for her friend to turn down the offer.

"Sydney, care to join your friend on the dance floor?" Michael said and stretched out his hand and lead Sydney to the dance floor.

To be continued.

Next Part: Sydney and Michael heat up and Lauren/Julian banter


	2. Chapter 2

This is the second part of the story. The third and final chapter will be posted in the end of the week. Thanks to everyone for reading my fic.

PART 2

"You are a really good dancer, I didn't know that about you," Michael Vaughn said as he twirled Sydney in the dance floor currently occupied by several of their friends. Lauren and Julian shared their dance in the near distance and they could also see the future newlyweds Eric and Kelly dancing and looking like a couple madly in love with each other.

"Thank you, I guess there are privileges to having a dance teacher as a best friend. Lauren actually says that I'm her pet project as according to her, I was terrible before she stepped in and made a favor to the male dancing population by training me. I remember you saying something at the Barbecue that you didn't dance, so what made you change your mind tonight?" Sydney asked in a teasing tone and hoped that her attraction to Michael wouldn't be as obviously as she suspected it would be.

"I normally don't dance, but if I wouldn't have asked you to dance, some other lucky guy would have. You look really good and I actually wanted to call you a couple times recently. Too bad I don't have your number," Michael said and shortened the gap between them. Not that there had been a huge distance before, but now they were standing only inches apart.

"Do you want you have my number now that you will have it the next time you want to contact me?" Sydney said in flirtatious voice and hoped that her legs wouldn't fail her at this moment. Maybe that 'action' she was talking to Lauren about earlier would not be so far fetched after all.

"Your number is not the only thing I want from you. I want to do this to you," Michael said and lowered his lips to hers. As the first shock of the kiss ended, she was eagerly kissing him back. After a few moments, Michael pulled away and hesitantly looked in her eyes to see what her reaction would be.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go that far. I really shouldn't drink any alcohol in places where there are beautiful, kissable girls like you," Michael said and hoped she wouldn't take offence at his directness and move away from his arms.

Instead of telling Michael how much she had liked the kiss, she decided to show it. She brought her hand to Michael's hair and kissed him with more intensity than before. Tonight was going to be much better than she could have even imagined.

--

Julian had found it quite hard to break through Lauren's resistance and hadn't been able to get anything other than a few polite yes or no's from the blonde he was dancing with. She was deliberately avoiding his eyes and instead looking at Michael and Sydney interact with each other.

"Your friend mentioned that you are a choreographer. That must be a fascinating and interesting job, isn't that right, Miss Reed?" Julian asked and hoped that Lauren would come out of her shell when talking about her profession.

"Yes, it's quite interesting. So Mr. Vaughn said something about you being a lawyer, what's that like?" Lauren said with polite interest. She would have preferred to be sitting in a quiet corner and gossiping with her friends, but since Sydney had suckered her into dancing with this man, she didn't want to be rude. She had not been raised that way and her mother, the mild mannered and sophisticated New York socialite Olivia Reed would be appalled if her daughter didn't follow the party etiquette of polite small talk. God knows, she had disappointed mother enough by filing for divorce two months ago.

"Well, on a day to day basis, I try to keep the hospital out of the courtroom. Too bad Mickey and Weiss don't make it so easy with their methods that even Dr. House would be dumbfounded by," Julian laughed, wanting to lighten her mood by joking. He hadn't seen her smile at all and really wanted to know how she looked when smiling. He found her incredibly beautiful already, but was certain that she would be even more stunning then.

"You watch House MD? I love that show, I'm absolutely obsessed with Hugh Laurie and I have seen all of his movies and television shows. I have even watched Stuart Little multiple times just because of him, but if you repeat that to anyone, I'll deny it," Lauren said excitedly and found it hard to sulk when the topic turned to her favorite television show and actor.

"I'm finding new sides of you that I like all the time. This must be my night, an attractive, single Hugh Laurie fanatic is dancing a slow dance with me." Julian joked again and dipped her low as the song came to an end.

"I'm not single," Lauren said and let go of Julian's hands as soon as he had stopped dipping her. She wanted him to understand that nothing would come of this dance, no dates, no kissing and certainly no bedroom action.

"You're getting divorced, that's single in my books. It's not like you and ex- hubby are still living together or anything. You have kicked him out, right?" Julian commented and put on his most charming smile.

"It's none of your business what goes on between me and my husband. Thank you for the dance, now excuse me," Lauren said without even pretending to be polite. She didn't want to explain the happening of her personal life to someone she didn't know at all. She attempted to leave, but he had grapped her arm and pulled her with him to a quiet corner outside of the dance floor.

"I don't mean to be so forward, but it doesn't matter how many times you lie to yourself about your marital status, it still doesn't make you happily married." Julian said pointedly and felt no need to sugarcoat this issue. She was clearly one of those bury-your-head-in-the-sand type of people while he wanted to face an issue head on.

"This is the second time today when a wannabe Dr Phil tries to analyze me and I have to say I don't like it at all. You have a lot of nerve to start giving me relationship advice since I met you roughly 10 minutes ago. Let go of my arm now," Lauren hissed in a angry tone and was shooting daggers at the man who had a firm grip on her left arm.

"You are incredibly sexy when angry. I should make a habit to annoy you as much as possible in the future," Julian said unfazed by the blonde's furious disposition. She was most definitely a hellcat and he liked that in a woman.

"I'm sorry, but I don't find this caveman attitude of yours attractive at all. I'm going to ask you one more time to remove your hand from my arm if you don't want me to slap that smirk of your face." Lauren said and lifted her hand to the level of his face to make a point.

"Fine, my mistake. I would have just thought that you were a woman with an adventures streak, but now I see that you are nothing but a shrinking violet. I'll go and leave you to pity yourself in peace," Julian said and let go of her arm. He was certain that underneath of that prudish exterior lay a completely different person just waiting to be unleashed.

"Wait, I'm certainly not a shrinking violet. I'm usually the epicenter of excitement in a party, you just caught me on a bad night." Lauren said defiantly, it was a blow to her ego to be considered a boring and uninteresting person. She would now have to prove him wrong.

"I find that hard to believe after everything I've witnessed from you tonight. You are an uptight prude pretending to be someone else, like your friend over there. She apparently knows how to unwind and have fun," Julian baited her and gestured towards Sydney and Michael who were still engaged in passionate lip lock in the middle of the dance floor.

"What would it take for you to change that perception of me? Because, I'll have you know, I'm the most exiting person you'll ever meet." Lauren noted with resolve, she didn't want to act like her mother, who lived for manners and appearances.

"You could share another dance with me and we can continue from there. All I need is your undivided attention for the rest of the night and no more talk about ex husbands, divorces or any other dreadfully boring topic. If you can do that, I could be swayed into believing that you are full of fun after all." Julian replied with a smile curving into his lips.

"You got yourself a deal, but only if you help me avoid that woman who is now making her way over here. Her husband Thomas went to school with me and Sydney and when she gets talking, there is no end. You will be forced to listen to everything about her life including the way she has her spices in an alphabetical order!" Lauren exclaimed and moved a little so that she was hidden behind Julian's back.

"I'm at your service, Miss Reed. I have the perfect away to avoid talking to a woman who sounds very irritating," Julian replied and took Lauren by the hand and lead her to the other part of the room.

--

"Are you as happy as I am?" Kelly Peyton asked her fiancé as she pressed her head on his shoulder during their dance.

"I would hazard a guess that I'm way happier than you are right now. Not every day can you leave your miserable bachelor lifestyle filled with hot women, wild parties and no responsibility at all to settle down and have a family." Eric joked in his typical manner that Kelly had gotten used to by now after a four year courtship that would lead to the altar the day after tomorrow.

"You have succeed in making me the happiest woman on the planet and I want you to know that most things won't change in our lives after the I Do's, except I'll call you husband and you'll call me wife. Don't you love the sound of that?" Kelly noted happily and took another look at her ring that would very soon get a friend.

"I know you'll be the perfect wife. You won't pull a Nadia on me, I'm sure of that." Eric laughed once again thinking about their friends Noah and Nadia Hicks, who married last summer. Ever since becoming a Mrs., Nadia had dedicated herself into playing super wife and desperately tried trying to get pregnant. Noah had been practically been chained to her until she got pregnant some months ago and had missed most of their Lakers games that their whole work crew went to watch on a regular basis.

"No worry sweetie, I don't have any hurry on the baby front. And you I would never tell you not to go to a Laker game, as you don't mind me going to see the Angels play. I think we are a pretty perfect match in every way possible and marriage won't change that." Kelly said in a voice that had no regrets or worries in it.

"I'm a lucky man that I managed to get together with the only hot chick in Los Angeles that loves sports as much as I do. Don't ever change, honey since your perfect in every angle." Eric said and stopped dancing for minute to kiss his bride on the lips.

--

"Come on you, don't chicken out now. You told me yourself that you are fun, so now you can prove it. Just follow my lead," Julian said as he steered Lauren towards the stage where the DJ was playing.

"Fine, but don't do anything that I can't blame alcohol for." Lauren agreed and went along with whatever the blond haired man had in mind. She had a bad feeling about this, but there was no backing out now.

They entered the stage and Julian whispered something the ear of the female DJ who nodded and stopped the song she was currently playing.

"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome to the stage Julian and Lauren who wish to perform to our happy couple. Let's give them a big round of applauds," the DJ said handing Julian and horrified Lauren microphones and leaving the stage. She was going to kill him for this.

To be continued…

Next chapter: Julian and Lauren sing and Michael has something he wants to ask from Sydney…


	3. Chapter 3

** Song credit: Ryan Adams**

PART 3

Lauren was sure that her whole life flashed in front of her as she cleared her throat and prepared to sing. Her only singing experience was limited to having sang in the choir during high school and sometimes belting out Britney Spear's 'My Prerogative' in the shower to the annoyance of her husband, who wasn't a member of Spear's fan club. Now she was going to sing a duet with a man she hardly knew in front of her friends. Apparently the divorce wasn't the only way in which the Lord Almighty was punishing her these days.

"Relax, don't stand like you would have swallowed a ten foot pole," came Julian's final bit of 'helpful advise' before the song started playing. Lauren was quite glad to notice that she actually knew the song they would be singing and knew the words reasonably well. Ryan Adam's 'When the stars go blue' had been the song Julian had selected.

Dancin' where the stars go blue  
Dancin' where the evening fell  
Dancin' in my wooden shoes  
In a wedding gown

Dancin' out on 7th street  
Dancin' through the underground  
Dancin' little marionette  
Are you happy now?

Where do you go when you're lonely  
Where do you go when you're blue  
Where do you go when you're lonely  
I'll follow you  
When the stars go blue  
When the stars go blue

Laughing with your pretty mouth  
Laughing with your broken eyes  
Laughing with your lover's tongue  
In a lullaby

Where do you go when you're lonely  
Where do you go when you're blue  
Where do you go when you're lonely  
I'll follow you  
When the stars go blue  
The stars go blue, stars go blue

Follow you  
Follow you

When the stars go blue  
When the stars go blue  
When the stars go blue  
When the stars go blue

Where do you go when you're lonely?  
Where do you go when the stars go blue?

Julian looked right into Lauren's aquamarine blue eyes during the song and didn't let his gaze divert into anyone else. She was truly beautiful and he didn't mean only in a physical sense. She was no Whitney Houston when it came to singing, but could perform in a way that worked wonders to his libido. There was something about a woman who could tell you to go to hell and make you look forward to the trip that exited him to no end.

Lauren found it hard not to be impressed by Julian's performance and she made herself think of the least sexiest things in the world as a way to not start making out with him as soon as the song was over. Although the idea of her parents having sex grossed her enormously, it didn't help that much and she still wanted to kiss him.

--

Sydney and Michael had stopped their lip lock to watch the song and she was standing her back against his stomach while he had wrapped his hand around her midsection.

Sydney was very impressed on the development Lauren had made tonight. Julian had succeeded in bringing back the old, pre-marriage Lauren, who laughed, partied and did things without analyzing them to death. Sydney had loved Will dearly, but he was completely the wrong person to her blonde friend. He had stifled her fire during their marriage and made her change into someone Sydney hardly recognized. The Lauren she knew would have never went to a book reading over a shopping trip or spent her Saturday proofreading her husbands most recent novel instead of hitting the club scene with her friends.

Sydney also decided on the moment that it was now her mission to make sure Lauren and Julian ended up together and the wheels in her pretty head had already started turning and made up a perfect plan which just waited to be executed.

"Sydney, I want to ask you something?" Michael said whispering in her ear during the final verse of the song. His hot breath felt perfect in her neck and she turned around, forgetting her scheme to make Lauren and Julian hook up tonight.

"Will you be my date for the wedding tomorrow? I know that a beautiful, smart girl like you must have men lining up to take you out, but I'm sure no one of those other suitors would show you nearly as good of a time I would," Michael said pulling Sydney closer with his hands on her hips in a very sensual gesture.

"I think I'll need to check my blackberry to see if my dating schedule is free, I am in high demand you know. I am very demanding and I expect to be shown an incredibly good time before I'm fully satisfied. So you think you are up to the challenge?" Sydney teased and started moving her hand up and down on his chiseled chest.

"I think I'll do very good on the satisfaction front. In school I wasn't very good in history but I was incredibly good on dates, so I think you're going to enormously satisfied." Michael continued in a teasing tone and his hand dipped lower on her back, almost touching her backside.

"Well then, I think I will allow you to take me out, but I expect maximum amount of satisfaction after that sales pitch." Sydney said and attached her lips to his for a searing kiss that had more passion that anything she had ever experienced. Then she silently led in to the direction of the front door of the club. She could get two things at the same time, action with Michael and get Lauren and Julian together by leaving the party before she noticed. Now that Sydney was going to take her car and leave Lauren without a ride, she would have to get Julian to drive her home. There was no way either Kelly or Eric would drive her, they were too busy with their guests and Lauren wouldn't ask Thomas and Rachel drive her even if her life depended on it. Plus, Sydney didn't think there was no way Julian would allow her to take a cab. Sydney was not-so-secretly very pleased with herself as the valet brought her car around. She was going to have to pat herself on the back for this one. A hook up and date with a gorgeous doctor for herself and getting her friend some action with an equally hot lawyer, not a bad ending to night in her opinion. 

--

Lauren finished the final note of the song and to her surprise, they got a massive amounts of applauds that she didn't expect at all. But she was still going to take him to a quiet corner and kill him.

"That was excellent sweetheart. I didn't think you would have it in you, but I stand corrected. You are not as much of a prude than I thought," Julian complemented as they exited the stage and made their way to the refreshment table to get something to drink.

"It was wasn't it? But still don't call me sweetheart. Thank you for tonight, I had more fun than I thought I would have. I have to go find Sydney and ask her what time she wants to get going. I'm a bit tired and I want to look fresh for the wedding. Have a good night and I'll see you at the wedding," Lauren said with a smile and left him standing with a champagne glass in hand as she started navigating her way to where she had last seen Sydney standing.

Julian wasn't going to let her just walk away, he wanted to get to know her more and in his mind, the night was anything but over. He was going to let her look for her friend for a while, knowing that she wasn't going to find her. He had caught Michael and Sydney leaving during their song holding hands and they were not going to come back any time soon.

Where the hell had Sydney went to? She wasn't in the bathroom, dance floor or in any quiet corners in the club. A furiating thought was starting to sink in to Lauren; Sydney had ditched her for Michael tonight and that meant that she was out of a ride. She cursed in her mind that she had agreed to come in Sydney's car instead of getting her own; she was now going to have to call a taxi. Not only had she left her cell phone at home, but apparently she wasn't going to get a cab for the next 45 minutes, due to the midnight rush.

Lauren contemplated walking, but quickly dismissed the idea. She wasn't going to risk her safety by walking in the unsafe streets of Los Angeles, she had heard enough horror stories of rapes and robbery's to do that. She was going to murder Sydney in cold blood when the brunette woman returned from her bedroom escapades tomorrow morning. She could have called Will to come and get her, but the idea sounded worse than walking. She was just going to have to wait to get a cab, which didn't please her at all; she hated waiting in all forms and had very little patience when it came to waiting.

"Do you need a ride? I just got a text message from Michael where he informed me that he and your friend are currently making their way to a private party where we are not invited." Julian said interrupting Lauren's fantasy of choking Sydney to death.

"No thank you, I'm going to wait for the cab." Lauren said with a small, almost thankful smile. She didn't want to get in a car with a man she hardly knew, plus she was attracted to him and didn't want to see what would happen if he drove her home and wanted to come up for a night cap. She wasn't ready for anything of that sort right now and end of discussion.

"I won't take no for an answer. You said yourself that you want to go home. I promise to be a perfect gentleman and just drive you home no strings attached. I can hardly leave you here in good conscience to be hit on left and right by drunken morons." Julian said in a voice that didn't leave her much choice. She had noticed during tonight that he was very good at this persuading thing.

"Fine, but don't except to get anything more than a thank you for your efforts. I won't go to bed with you tonight under any circumstances." Lauren relented and followed him out of the building.

They hardly spoke during the 15 minute ride to the apartment she shared with Sydney. She didn't find anything neutral enough to talk about while he switched between watching the rode and watching how her she looked sitting in the passenger's seat of his Lexus. She gave him the final instructions and as her home appeared, he stopped his car.

"Thank you for the ride. I'll see you at the wedding tomorrow," Lauren said while opening the door and started making her way out of the car. Julian took a hold of her hand and pulled her to him. He looked straight into her eyes and kissed her before Lauren could stop it. Their kiss lasted only a couple of seconds before he pulled away.

"Good night. I will most definitely see you at the wedding," Julian said as she stepped out of the car. He watched her disappear in to the building and mentally made a decision to make sure that one day she would be his.

The End.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it.


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